Unf@ckinbelievable!
Why the hell hasn't Bush run this sort of stuff?
Ok, Kerry can fudge the combat records, how's he gonna nuance himself outta his own words this time?

I sure wish they would bring up his attendance at the VVAW meeting in which they discussed and voted on whether to assasinate US Senators. Not only did Kerry participate(information indicates he voted No)he has tried to coverup this participation.

Not only is it a great ad in its own right, it gives the President his new talking point ready-made: "Mr. Kerry, I will repudiate the Swift Boat Veterans ads just as soon as you repudiate what you said to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

Iblis,

Bush CAN'T run this sort of stuff. I guarantee you that if he did, the Times and every other goddamn paper that has been ignoring this story would run 6" high headlines like:

"COWARDLY DRAFT-DODGER BUSH ATTACKS DECORATED WAR HERO KERRY'S SERVICE RECORD"

Accompanying photos would show Bush looking stupid and mean, Kerry looking noble and aggrieved. Interior photos wuld include closeups of Kerry's scar (or perhaps an x-ray with shrapnel fragments highlighted) along with an "artists reconstruction" of a table scattered with empty beer cans, and an curiously scratched and "dusty" mirror.

Bush is smart to leave it to the vets. The press can't do much to smear them without looking like assholes themselves.

Michelle Malkin's blog post re: her appearance on Hardball last night made it onto Drudge. The dam is leaking, and is about to break.

I had been wondering for a while when someone would run an ad directly showcasing Kerry's "national debute". Pulling on my Nostradamus hat, I predict this ad will cause the Kerry campaign crew to suffer a shit hemmorage when it airs.

Personally I would have used footage of the young Kerry actually speaking those excerpts, but it is a minor quibble.

One thing to remember. . . Bush isn't really letting the Swift Vets do his dirty work, like Kerry says. What he's doing instead is focusing on, oh, the war we're currently in.

The best thing about the Swift Vets is, whether their charges are true or not, they keep Kerry and his camp focused on arguments over a 30 YEAR OLD WAR. While I'm certainly the first in line to argue about how important understanding *real* history is to events today (see "Hanson, Victor Davis, Collected Works of"), to the average voter, this meme could grow in effectiveness. I could see a lot of people wondering just why the heck should they pay attention to the candidate who keeps talking about the past, instead of the candidate who talks about the future.

Then again, none of this matters. It all comes down to the debates. Bush has to look serious, and competent enough, and he'll win again. He just needs to rope Kerry into being as arrogant as he wants to be, which I feel can't be too difficult.

Cheers,
Dave
Arlington, Virginia

Paul,
Yeah I know he can't run that stuff. It just seems like every media outlet including smoke signals has been used to trash Bush, its fianlly satisfying to see some solid hits scored on Kerry.

Unfortunately, I think Mathews buffaloed Michelle into saying Kerry may have shot himself on purpose. I don't think that was her intent but she didn't really clarify her meaning....

MATTHEWS: No. No one has every accused him of shooting himself on purpose.

MALKIN: Yes. Some of them say that.

MATTHEWS: Tell me where that...

MALKIN: Self-inflicted wounds—in February, 1969

I have been saying, since the very first moment this came out, that it was going to get bloody.

I've watched the second Swift Vets ad four times this morning, and every single time I choke up. This is even more devastating than the first ad.

Keep hacking at Kerry. He is the one who brought the whole matter of Vietnam up. He deserves this.

Golden Boy: Exactly. I like Michelle as much as the next right winger, but she clearly slipped there.
As for the ad, two words: HOLY SHIT.